Smart Puppy
by Justa Little Puppy
Summary: A dog is not only man's best friend, but shaman's best friend too. Hao may not be able to easily trust other people but when it comes to a little yellow puppy, anyone Fluffy trusts, he will learn to trust too. For him he will do anything. Just as long as he doesn't leave him. He would even forgive his brother, if it would make Fluffy happy.


**Author's Note: ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF AWOOOOOO! -wags tail like theres no tommorrow- Ahem, thank you Fragments of Imagination for reviewing my first fic, I was sitting on my bed about to head out for school, looking on my ipod at my story and other people's stories, being all jealous that they had all those reviews, when I scrolled back up to my story and find...you guessed it! A REVIEW! I read it and fist pumped the air when I read the last 2 words: Good story. I couldn't stop grinning untill I was at least 2 blocks from my house. Thanks so so much! I wanted to stay home and write another story just because that one review I was so excited, but of course I couldn't... T-T...good thing it's friday! Another person reviewed but he (or she) was a guest, so thanks, mysterious stranger...;p You two have just given me the courage to write another story! Hope I get more reviews! And hope you all enjoy my new fanfiction! It has something you would have all never guessed I loved... PUPPIES! Well this actually has just one puppy but whateves!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction if I did dumbnuggets... sorry for being mean, it just gets me so mad when I think about what I can't have but want so much... **

* * *

A puppy sat in a box in a alley, looking confused. Where was the woman? Where was the man? Where was the little boy? He had been brought here and put in this box, told to stay. Now what? He didn't have much of a concept of time but he knew he had been here long enough for him to be hungry. Very hungry. And he could tell the difference between morning and night. Those times had passed several times. He was also very cold. Why did his family not come back already? How long must he stay? Everywhere seemed bleak and dirty for as far as his big puppy eyes could see. A human would walk by occasionally but he never dared make his presense known. They were not his family. He had worked up enough courage once to yip when a person walked by, but the person seemed to have been startled by this and kicked him in the face, cursing and yelling about him being a stupid mutt.

So he stayed quiet and still. Hunger, though, eventually got the better of him. His family would understand if he disobeyed the command for now, right? He would return to his box later, now he must find food. The puppy scratched behind his ear with a hindleg and placed his two front paws on the edge of the box, peeping out. When he felt the coast was clear he climbed out and sniffed the air.

The alley reeked so much that he couldn't smell anything, except indescribably disgusting things. He could just make out the smell of not yet rotten fish. He trotted towards a nearby garbage can, the holder of the smell, and climbed up onto a box so he could reach the lid and attempt to remove it by pawing it off. He didn't smell or notice the large cat untill he was knocked on his side by a suprisingly powerful paw.

The puppy scrambled to his feet, only to be barraled down as the cat threw himself at him; He apparently had had his nose on that fish too. The puppy got up quicker than last time and made a mad dash for the other side of the alley. The cat was quicker though and must have thought this was a battle to the death, hissing fiercely as he chased the poor pooch down and swiped at his side. The puppy yelped in pain but kept running, which just made the cat angrier. The feline jumped onto the puppy's back, cruelly digging in his claws. That was enough. The puppy yelped again and fell from the cat's weight, onto his back, exposing his soft tummy. The cat got into a position to pounce on the pup, his intentions to tear his stomach open clear as day.

"Shoo! Get out of here!"

The cat froze for a momment at the unexpected voice, but quickly dashed away as silently as he had come. The puppy was too terrified to move, so he stayed in his exposed position, expecting the end. A figure loomed over him, looking down at the puppy with a concerned face. " Hey little guy, you okay?"

The gentleness in the boy's voice got to the puppy, something he hadn't heard since...well, he couldn't remember. He slowly rolled himself off his back to his feet, whining a little from the pain moving caused. The boy gasped. "You poor creature..." he said softly. "That mean old cat really did you in!" The puppy cowered even though the boy's voice was still gentle, and ran and jumped into his box. "So that is where you live?" The boy asked with a small chuckle. " I don't have a real home either. Guess the two of us are alike in a way. No family, no friends, and the whole world seems to be against us." The puppy growled softly at the boy. He was wrong. Sure, he didn't have any friends and the world did seem like it was pretty much against him, he _did _have a family,and they were on their way. That was all he needed. Family. It took the boy a minute to realize why the puppy was growling, why he was in the box. When he figured it out he sighed and shook his head.

"Poor little dog, you don't realize you've been abandoned, do you?" The puppy gasped slightly and prepared to growl bark an angry reply when he remembered something. His family... had been talking about getting rid of a problem, right before they put him in the car with them and drove to this unknown place to drop him off in this box. What had been the problem? Why couldn't he come to help get rid of it? Or maybe... he had been the problem. He had been abandoned. The puppy whined and turned his head up to the sky, howling his sadness. Suddenly he was lifted up into warm but weak hands.

"It seems now you get it. I can tell by that touch of anguish in your voice. Why don't you and me try and understand each other better? Do you want to be my friend, my family?" The puppy yipped and gave him a lick on the face. Now that he was close enough to the boy he could smell him better. He smelled of pain, sorrow, loneliness and blood. This boy needed him... and maybe, he needed the boy. The boy chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes. Just knowing someone is willing to have me as a friend makes me feel so much better. Your name should be... Fluffy. You look like a Fluffy, don't you think?" The puppy was yellow, he didn't know who that made him look like, but his old family had alway just called him dog, or mutt, or STUPID YELLOW TURD! This name though, was a real, permenant one he would always know to anwser. He nodded to the boy.

" Good to know you like it, the people who would laugh though if they knew me of all people was naming a dog Fl- Wait, you _nodded?" _Fluffy nodded again. The boy gave him a bewildered look then laughed. "Ive seen weirder things, you must be a really smart, huh Fluffy?" Now it was Fluffy's turn to look bewildered. What did that mean, smart? He had been called stupid so many times he did not know. "Lets go, Fluffy, off into the world of suffering and sorrow, but we will not be as lonely, for we will have each other." And the boy left with his new puppy, his long brown hair swaying behind him.

The two companions walked. And walked, and walked, and walked. They never stayed long in one place. They never could tell when there next meal would come. They never knew where they would sleep each night. They were like nomads. They often ate dirt. They slept where they felt it secluded though for them nothing was truly safe. They mattered only to each other. For they had no one else.

* * *

Hao sat in a alley with Fluffy one night, contemplating his puppy's sleeping face as he used some cloth he had found to bind his chest. He had needed for quite some time to change the filthy, bloodied poncho he had first used to bind his chest, hes had it ever since his battle...with... No, now was not the time to be thinking of such things. Fluffy was shivering. He needed warmth and no one else but Hao could provide it. Because there was no one else. "I guess we are alone together, still very much alone, but together." Hao whispered as he pulled the yellow puppy closer to him.

He was asleep in about two seconds, and in three more seconds Fluffy opened his eyes. He couldn't keep living like this. Hunting around for food in garbage cans, sleeping in alleys, sure, a dog could do this no problem, an adult one at least. But Fluffy could see his friend was sick and hurt and needed to go to a real family with a real home. So he would find him one if it was the last thing he did.

He gave Hao an apologetic lick on the face as he wriggled out of his arms, feeling bad for leaving him behind even if he planned to return. When he freed himself he took a moment to just stand and sniff the air. Then he set out, padding briskly and quietly along the darkest and most covered areas in the city they were in. He had learned from Hao to completely avoid being seen by other people, or there was a possibility of them being taken away and seperated, Hao going to a hospital and Fluffy likely to be brought to an animal shelter. They didn't want to go anywhere without each other. Fluffy walked for quite a while, looking up at everything he passed. The city was big and bright with a lot of loud noises and not many dark places. It made him uncomfortable. He trotted to a darker, much quieter part of the place and sighed gratefully as he found many places to hide but still keep moving. He was walking past a large stone archway, unnerved by how open the space seemed, when he noticed something that made him stop dead in his tracks.

A boy was walking out of the large house, grumbling as he held a large garbage bag and walked over to the curb near the house. He looked...like Hao. So much that it was kind of scary for Fluffy. He might have actually thought he was Hao in fact if it wasn't for the shorter hair and the wrong scent. The boy walked closer and then tripped on a stone jutting out in his path.

"Ow!"

The boy groaned as he looked up and saw the bag he had been holding had ripped open. A half eaten drum stick rolled in front of him, and he looked cross eyed at it with disgust. Then he noticed the puppy standing still frozen in the middle of the archway. He smiled at him and picked the bone up, stretching it towards him."You hungry little fella?"

Fluffy was indeed hungry. But still, this guy was probably like all the other humans he'd encountered; mean and cold and cruel. He was probably giving him the bone so he would have one less piece of trash to worry about. Well if he took the bone he would be helping both of them Fluffy guessed as he slowly padded up to the boy and grabbed the bone. He was surprised when the boy reached out and petted him though, and even more so when the boy began to talk to him with a voice as gentle as his friend had. His friend who needs him. Hao needs him to get him a good home. Hao...

"So, where did you come from doggy? You lost? Are you a stray? How about you come inside with me? It's awfully cold out here. My name is Yoh."

Fluffy looked intently into Yoh's eyes and knew this was what his friend needed. Quickly he grabbed the boys shirt in his teeth and tugged as hard as he could, trying to get him to move. Yoh was much larger and definetly stronger then the puppy though, so he raised an eyebrow at him and stayed were he was."Whats wrong doggy?"

Fluffy whined at him and continued to tug at his shirt. Eventually Yoh got the puppy's message and, removing Fluffy from his shirt, stood up and stared down at the dog steadily. Fluffy turned and walked ahead a couple steps, looking back to make sure Yoh was following. Yoh walked right behind him, so Fluffy continued on.

They walked for a long time, Fluffy never going too far ahead of Yoh since he had to walk right out in the open and felt too exposed. Yoh watched the puppy closely and noticed this behaviour. _"Dog must have been through some things."_ He thought as he continued to follow Fluffy.

He knew it was probably one of the dumbest things hes done, follow a puppy that randomly showed up out of no where out into the bad parts of the city to goodness knows where. But something about the way the puppy had stared into his eyes with such determined fire... He was probably going to get slapped till his face bled once Anna found out he had left with some unknown dog to some unknown place and hadn't even bothered to clean up the spilled trash. He sighed. _"Already started, might as well go through with this follow the puppy leader thing..."_

* * *

Hao woke up slowly right before dawn, not in much a rush to go through another day of constant pain. He immedeitely noticed Fluffy was gone and looked for him quiet but frantically in the alley. He couldn't find him. He peeped out into the streets, though he doubted Fluffy would have gone out into the city. There was no sign of his puppy.

Hao slowly moved to a far, dark corner in the alley and sat looking dull and lifeless. _" Fluffy left me..." _He thought sadly. _" Just like Matamune had... I think im starting to hate dogs and cats as well as humans...I could never stay mad at cats though... but Fluffy... why...?" _

Hao looked up quickly as he heard a familiar yip. "Fluffy?"

"Arf arf arf!"

Hao threw his arms open and Fluffy jumped in without hesitation. He had missed Hao so much and judging by how sad he had seemed when he had come back he must have missed him too. Fluffy felt extremly guilty.

Hao sat hugging Fluffy and telling him how disappointed he was that he had left, as well as how happy he was that he had came back. It was around that time he realized there was some one else there. He stiffened as he looked up slowly. He was surprised though to look up into the equally surprised face of his twin brother. Hao's face went blank. Yoh was probably going to kill him. Hao didn't show it on the outside but he braced himself for an attack, though he didn't even sense his brother's spirit around.

Yoh looked him up and down critically. He took in Hao's dirty appearance and skinny body. He had definatly seen better days, the only piece of clothing on him was his now ripped up and filthy pants, and a bloodied piece of cloth around his chest, binding a wound Yoh knew he was the cause for. Yoh knew this was his fault, why Hao was living like a hobo. He would fix this.

Yoh bent down slightly and smiled, stretching out a hand."Come."

Hao narrowed his eyes slightly. Was Yoh seriously asking him to go with him? Did he really think he was such a fool? Yoh was the other half of his soul but he certaintly wasn't as stupid as him! How dare he-"Arf arf!"

Fluffy lept from Hao's lap and went to stand next to Yoh. He had gotten the boy to want to take him home but now how would he convince Hao to go? Fluffy whined and then got on his back, exposing his belly to Yoh. Yoh kneeled down and rubbed it, prompting a happy yip and a kicking paw in the air from the puppy. A clear show of trust. Hao knew if Fluffy could trust him, even if he was a dog and so naturally quick to trust those kind to them, he could at least try. He knew going with Yoh would be good for both of them. Why take such an oppurtunity from Fluffy... and himself? There was no harm in trying.

Hao stood up and looked at Yoh warily. Yoh raised an eyebrow. "You coming?" Hao nodded. Yoh smiled again and, standing up, began to walk out the alley, looking over his shoulder briefly to make sure his elder brother was coming. As Hao followed Yoh, he looked down to see Fluffy walking next to him looking proud. "Smart puppy, if I didn't know any better I might have thought you planned this." Fluffy looked up at him with a wide puppy grin and nodded. Hao's eyes widened, but he just smiled and chuckled softly.

"Smart puppy."

* * *

**Author's Note: Wow! That took me like a week to finish! I should really try and write faster... Oh well, i'll improve in time, right?...Right? o_o' By the way, another guest reviewed my first story during this week, so thanks other mysterious stranger... also I am probably going to try and write a multi chapter story next, I don't know if im ready though... -gulps- I am really _really_ counting on you guys reviews this time, I want to know what you think about me writing an actual story. I would tell you what it would be about but now that I think about it I want it to be a surprise! Feel free to guess though! Hehe, review and you get doggy biscuits! -hands biscuits out instead of throwing them to avoid throwing it in someone's eye again- **


End file.
